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Spicy Sausage Rigatoni

Sara Rose
A creamy, rich, slow cooked spicy sausage and tomato sauce tossed with rigatoni pasta and served with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 55 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 542 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped Celery
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped Carrot Stick
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped Yellow Onion
  • Salt and freshly cracked Black Pepper to taste
  • 2 cloves Garlic minced
  • 8 oz. Ground Spicy Italian Sausage
  • 1/2 cup Dry Red Wine
  • 1/2 tsp. Italian Oregano
  • 1/4 tsp. Dried Mint or Sugar
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 2 tbsp. Tomato Paste
  • 14 oz. San Marzano Tomatoes or other canned tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup Half and Half
  • 1 small piece of Parmesan Rind
  • good quality Parmesan Cheese grated on a microplane for serving
  • 8 oz. dry Rigatoni Pasta

Instructions
 

  • Cook the Vegetables. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or a medium-sized ceramic Dutch oven (the one in these pictures is a 3.5 quart ceramic Dutch oven). Add the finely chopped celery, carrots, onions, and a healthy pinch of salt. Stir to mix the vegetables into the oil and salt, and cook for about ten minutes until the vegetables are softened.
    Cooked vegetables in the bottom of a ceramic pot.
  • Add the Sausage and Garlic. Add the ground sausage and minced garlic to the pot with the softened vegetables. Break the sausage up into small pieces as it cooks, and cook for about 7-8 minutes until the sausage is completely browned.
    A ceramic pot full of cooked sausage and vegetables.
  • Add the Wine. Pour the dry red wine into the pot. Stir to mix it into the cooked sausage, and let the pot simmer for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the wine is mostly absorbed.
    A ceramic pot full of cooked ground sausage simmering in red wine.
  • Add the Tomatoes. Stir the tomato paste into the pot until it is mostly mixed into the sausage. Add the San Marzano tomatoes to the pot, and use your spoon to gently crush the tomatoes into small pieces. Stir the crushed tomatoes into the other ingredients until well combined, then stir in another pinch of salt.
    A woman's hand stirring tomatoes into a pot of cooked sausage with a wooden spoon.
  • Add the Seasonings and Simmer. Stir the dried oregano and mint into the sauce. Toss the bay leaf and the parmesan rind into the pot, then turn the heat beneath the pot down to low. Let the sauce simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
    A pot of pasta sauce with seasonings, a bay leaf, and a parmesan rind resting on top.
  • Add the Half and Half / Cook the Pasta. Stir the half and half into the sauce until well blended. Let the sauce continue shimmering while you boil the rigatoni noodles. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, then boil the rigatoni according to the package directions.
    A woman's hand using a wooden spoon to stir a pot of creamy sausage and tomato sauce.
  • Toss the Pasta in the Sauce and Serve. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of salty pasta water. Remove the bay leaf and the parmesan rind from the sauce, then stir the cooked pasta into the sauce. Serve warm with a generous amount of parmesan on top (I love to use a microplane for this), and a pinch of freshly chopped parsley if desired.
    A pot of spicy sausage rigatoni in a ceramic pot.

Notes

By finely dicing the vegetables, they cook down and mix in with the sauce much better. Also, this recipe is time consuming, but not labor intensive. Don't be scared by the time it takes - most of it is just letting ingredients simmer!
Adapted from various recipes

Nutrition

Serving: 2cupsCalories: 542kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 18gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 649mgPotassium: 658mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 2890IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 101mgIron: 3mg
Keyword Spicy Sausage Rigatoni
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